Should I?
by DaughterofFlynn
Summary: Merlin has decided to tell Arthur his secret...Morgana/Merlin friendship and Arthur/Merlin friendship


A/N: First off, sorry if this sucks… It's my first Merlin fic… Second, I own nothing… Merlin and all related content is copyright BBC and its respective owners… In this fic, Morgana had nothing to do with the events in The Tears of Uther Pendragon, but she still knows Merlin's secret and they're still friends. By the way, sorry if the end seems rushed… I wasn't sure how to end it. Thanks to MerlinStar for being my beta… You rock!

Merlin stared listlessly at his soup. "Merlin?" He heard a familiar voice pierce the edge of his thoughts. "Merlin," Gaius repeated, finally catching his attention. "Are you all right?"

Looking up from his soup and plastering on a smile, Merlin replied, "I'm fine." Gaius could tell when he was lying, but knew better than to press the issue.

"Well, if you need to talk, let me know," Gaius said, placing his hand gently on the young man's shoulder for a brief moment before walking away.

"I will," Merlin told him. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk, at least not with Gaius, considering that he was planning on telling Arthur his secret.

Later that evening, as he was heading back to his room, Merlin bumped into Morgana. Literally. "Merlin, are you all right?" she echoed Gaius' concerns from earlier that day, unknowingly. Sitting down in a nearby chair, he looked at her and contemplated telling her what was wrong. She did know his secret after all. Therefore, after what seemed like an eternity of picking the right wording and making sure no one was around to hear, he finally blurted out, "I'm going to tell Arthur my secret!"

Morgana looked surprised. "Well, I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, but there is the possibility he'll tell Uther," she said, her surprise quickly replaced with a soft look of concern.

Merlin sighed. "I know. That's why I've been so worried about telling him," he replied. Morgana caught his eye and smiled gently. "If he's truly your friend, he'll keep your secret." Merlin got up and gave Morgana a hug. "Thanks, Morgana. I really needed someone to talk to."

She smiled again at him. "Any time, Merlin." Merlin looked outside and realized how late it was.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed. Goodn_i_ght, Morgana."

"Goodnight," she replied, patting Merlin on the shoulder as she got up to go to her own room. Merlin sighed as he finished making his way back to Gaius' chambers. How was he ever going to tell Arthur his secret? Would he ever have the courage to do so?

The next day, as he was taking Arthur's armor back to him after having polished it, he decided he would tell him today. Without even realizing it, he was already at Arthur's chamber door. Swallowing the tightening knot in his throat, Merlin knocked.

"Come in," Arthur said at hearing the knock on the door. "Ah, Merlin. You were taking so long, I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten how to polish armor."

"Dollop head," Merlin replied quietly under his breath.

Becoming slightly annoyed at Merlin's lingering, Arthur asked, "Is there anything else you needed, or shall I give you more chores?"

Merlin took a deep breath. "Actually, there is. I'm-"

"Then get on with it," Arthur said, cutting him off.

Taking another deep breath to calm himself, Merlin continued. "I'm a wizard," he told Arthur, voice surprisingly steady. Arthur gave Merlin a skeptical look.

The servant swallowed slightly. "Watch this."

Merlin bent over and put a few logs in the fireplace, recited what Arthur supposed to be a spell, and stepped back as the logs blazed. As Merlin stepped back, he noticed Arthur didn't seem surprised. "You're taking this rather well, Sire, considering that your father has banned all things magic," Merlin said, his voice quieter than usual.

"I'd always suspected, to be honest, but never said anything for the aforementioned reason." Merlin looked Arthur in the eye.

"You won't tell your father, will you?" Merlin asked, almost pleadingly.

"Your secret is safe with me," Arthur replied, nodding. Merlin turned to leave. "Merlin?" Arthur called after him.

Merlin turned around at hearing his name. "Yes?"

"What brought on the sudden need for confession?" Merlin paused and blushed slightly, but thought about it.

"Well, I may not have ever said it to your face, but I consider you a friend, and I feel friends should be honest with each other. Plus you've trusted me with some of your deepest secrets, so why not trust you with mine?"

Arthur didn't know what to say. He never knew Merlin considered him a friend, let alone trusted him so deeply.

"You're speechless. That's a first," Merlin said, trying to hide a smile, but failing.

"Oh, shut up," Arthur said, though he couldn't help but smile.

"If you don't need anything else right now, I'm going to go," Merlin told him.

"See you later then, Merlin," Arthur said as Merlin turned to leave.

As he was going, Merlin quickly turned around and added, "If you tell anyone I consider you a friend, I'll deny it!"

Arthur laughed as he said, "I wouldn't expect any less, idiot."


End file.
